Much of the credit for Blu-ray Discs’ rapid
surge in sales beginning in 2007 is given to the launch of the PlayStation
3. Sony’s newest console brought to the market an incredible value for the
high-definition home theater enthusiast.

The PlayStation 3 remains one of the market’s cheapest, but
most capable Blu-ray Disc movie players – but oddly enough, that fact isn’t as
well known as one may believe. In fact, research results released by NPD Group
suggest that the majority of gamers, including owners of Xbox 360 or
PlayStation 3 consoles, are oblivious to their machine’s high-definition
capabilities.

Amazingly, the report finds that only 40 percent of
PlayStation 3 owners knew that the games machine was fully capable of playing
Blu-ray Disc movies. And of those who knew about the Blu-ray feature, only half
had used it to play a movie during the last 10 times they used the console. The
remaining half who knew about the movie player capabilities do not take
advantage of the feature.

While movies may not be on every gamer’s agenda, only 30
percent of Xbox 360 owners knew of the machine’s high-definition gaming output
capabilities, with the number rising to 50 percent in the case of PS3 owners.
This suggests that the majority of current generation gaming still takes place
on standard-definition televisions.

"The industry is still in its infancy with regard to
this "next-gen" and all the expanded capabilities of the
systems," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier to 1UP.
"Gameplay is still king, and it may take awhile for the awareness and
usage of the additional features to really take hold with consumers."